The invention concerns an electrical layer capacitor which can be regenerated. Metal layers serving as coatings and insulating material layers of dielectrics are arranged one over another in alternating fashion upon a carrier of insulating material. The metal layers of one coating extend to one side of the capacitor and those of another coating extend to the other side of the capacitor and extend beyond the dielectric layers. Border regions of the metal layers of the coatings extend beyond the dielectric layers and are arranged one over the other without insulating layers in between. The border region of the coating is connected with the associated lead element in electrically conductive fashion. Said coating comprises all metallisations of one polarity which are joined together.
A capacitor construction of this sort is known from British Patent 970,865. There, a carrier is used into which lead elements are set. The metal surfaces of the coatings are evaporated such that they encompass in each case a lead element. Metal compounds which are produced upon each metal layer serve as dielectric layers.
The construction according to the state of the art is not capable of being regenerated and is not suitable for miniaturization since the lead elements have their largest extension in the direction of the carrier. And since the carrier must have significant solidity, a significant thickness is required in order to contain the mechanical forces which occur at the lead elements during the processing. Besides this, a satisfactory insulating layer cannot be realized without difficulties because of conversion of the metal into a metal compound upon a thin metal coating. A self-healing capacitor cannot be produced in this manner.